"Our Lady wants everyone to wear it (the brown scapular); it is the sign of consecration to her Immaculate Heart.”
Lucia dos Santos
Brown Scapular history
Additional Information
Take this Scapular, it shall be a sign of salvation, a protection in danger and a pledge of peace. Whosoever dies wearing this Scapular shall not suffer eternal fire. Wear the Scapular devoutly and perseveringly. It is my garment. To be clothed in it means you are continually thinking of me, and I in turn, am always thinking of you and helping you to secure eternal life.”
Promise of Our Blessed Mother Mary to St. Simon Stock on July 16, 1251
At the Fatima October 13th 1917 apparition, Our Blessed Mother first identified herself as Our Lady of the Rosary. Following the Miracle of the Sun, she also appeared Our Lady of Sorrows and Our Lady of Mount Carmel, holding and offering a brown Scapular.
One of the children to witness the apparition of Our Blessed Mother at Fatima (Lucia dos Santos) later stated that "Our Lady wants everyone to wear it (the brown scapular); it is the sign of consecration to her Immaculate Heart.”
In 1950 Pope Pius XII wrote the following: "Take this scapular which Our Lady has given as a sign of consecration to her Immaculate Heart. Go out and convince the world that it must be dedicated to the Blessed Virgin if it will find peace. Go out and through this scapular re-dedicate families especially to the Holy Mother of God, who has shown her graces so abundantly through this scapular. May the Scapular be a sign to them (all who wear it) of their consecration to the Most Pure Heart of the Immaculate Virgin, which in recent times we have so strongly recommended."
There is a picture of a young Karol Wojtyla as a factory worker posing with a friend. He is wearing a big smile and a very visible Brown Scapular. As Pope John Paul II, he recalled how he wore his Scapular from about age 10.
When in May 1981 he was shot, he insisted doctors not remove his Scapular. Carmelite Father Mariano Cera told Inside the Vatican magazine: "Just before the Holy Father was operated on, he told the doctors 'Don't take off the Scapular.' And the surgeons left it on."
In a letter to the Carmelites, John Paul II wrote that “the most genuine form of devotion to the Most Holy Virgin, expressed by the humble sign of the Scapular, is the consecration to her Immaculate Heart.” At Fatima Mary called for the consecration to her Immaculate Heart. In 2001, on the occasion of the 750th anniversary of the bestowal of the Brown Scapular, the Holy Father said "Over time, this rich Marian heritage of Carmel has become, through the spread of the Holy Scapular devotion, a treasure for the whole Church."
To be eligible for the scapular promise, one must be enrolled in the Brown Scapular Confraternity. This is a simple ceremony which can be performed by any priest. The members of the Confraternity have the added benefit of sharing in all the spiritual benefits of the Carmelite Order. At most of our monthly Holy Rosary Rallies, we offer attendees who have not already enrolled the opportunity to do so-- along with their first Brown Scapular.
According to a statement made by the Carmelite Fathers at the National Scapular Center, every priest now has the right to invest the faithful in the Brown Scapular and to substitute the rosary in lieu of the Little Office. The scapular must be 100% wool without plastic casing and should not be pinned or affixed to clothing. It is worn over the head, under one’s clothes, with one square of wool hanging on the chest and the other on the back.
